New venue shined through the rain

Rain postponed one performance, washed away another and dampened a third, but soggy and stormy weather couldn’t take away the shine of the Summer Concert Series or its new Mudge Way venue.

"This was one of the worst years, weather-wise, that I can remember for the concerts," said Recreation Director Amy Hamilton, "but, overall, I think that the new venue was a hit."

An energetic, up-tempo performance by Soul of Boston, an eight-piece horn band featuring Bedford resident and bandleader Dave Ellis on the saxophone, closed out the series – which was shortened from five performances to four because of rain – on Wednesday, Aug. 7.

"A great turnout and fantastic performance as usual," said Hamilton, adding "perfect weather."

Sam Perkins

Rain postponed one performance, washed away another and dampened a third, but soggy and stormy weather couldn’t take away the shine of the Summer Concert Series or its new Mudge Way venue.

"This was one of the worst years, weather-wise, that I can remember for the concerts," said Recreation Director Amy Hamilton, "but, overall, I think that the new venue was a hit."

An energetic, up-tempo performance by Soul of Boston, an eight-piece horn band featuring Bedford resident and bandleader Dave Ellis on the saxophone, closed out the series – which was shortened from five performances to four because of rain – on Wednesday, Aug. 7.

"A great turnout and fantastic performance as usual," said Hamilton, adding "perfect weather."

The popular summertime series of free musical performances, which dates back to the 1970s, had long been held on the Town Common in front of the First Parish Church. But this year, the Recreation Department moved the performances to Mudge Way, with bands performing on the paved landing that sits atop a hill outside of Recreation Department complex, overlooking a children’s playground, several picnic tables and benches and an expanse of fields.

While the Mudge Way complex couldn’t compete with the Town Common’s picturesque venue, it provided a larger, safer venue, with far more parking, access to the Recreation Department’s facilities, children’s playground and distance from the competing noise of Great Road. Most importantly, it featured a built-in stage, in the form of the paved, elevated landing adjacent to the Rec. Department, which had been requested by all previous performers.

While the weather didn’t cooperate, washing out Soul of Boston’s original performance scheduled for July 25 (which was made up on Aug. 7) and the Shana Stack Bands concert on Aug. 1, according to Hamilton, the venue sparkled throughout the summer.

"Every band that I spoke with loved the new venue," said Hamilton. "I really liked the fact that the kids could run around safely and that there were others on the periphery who could enjoy the concert - those at the playground, basketball courts, skate-park. Parking was great and accessibility was very good as well."

Moving forward, Hamilton sees the concerts remaining at the Mudge Way venue and is already planning enhancements for next summer’s series.

"I would love to spruce up the performance area for next year, maybe make the area porch-like so that the Kids’ Club has a nice area to play and the bands have a nice area to perform," said Hamilton.

Other areas of improvement that Hamilton would like to explore include:

n Investing in portable canopies so that if bands have to set up in drizzle or rain arrives unexpectedly, the instruments are covered and will not be damaged.

n Better signage to indicate the concert schedule, rainouts, and other information.

n Increased publicity is always our weakness. "Although we had great coverage from [The Minuteman] and from The Citizen, we should have put the word out in other venues. We will improve upon that for next year," said Hamilton.